"And that'll be... $4.99. Thank you, have a good day sir."
Ruby Forrester watched with disinterest as yet another long-haired hippy left her dad's store, carrying with them an album belonging to some obscure experimental band from the 1960's.
She slumped down on the counter, her eyes darting towards the nearby clock to see what time it was. It was barely even the afternoon, and already she was beginning to get bored of having to watch over her dad's record store. Usually, he would be the one who had to wake up early in the morning and look after the place, seeing as he couldn't afford having someone else do it for him. Well, as it happened there was one other guy named Vincent who worked at the store, but he was just some student from Seattle University trying to earn some cash after blowing his student funds on too much video games. He was hardly qualified to look after the store all by himself, which was exactly why Ruby's father relied on her to look after the place whenever he was away.
However. The thing that annoyed Ruby was that whilst normally the main reason for his absence would be something important, like having to attend a vital appointment of some description, today his only excuse was that it was his wedding anniversary. So rather than look after the store until 7:00 in the evening, he asked Ruby if she could look after the store in his place whilst he and her mother go and do... Stuff. What kind of stuff in particular was none of her business, not that Ruby was complaining.
God, why did my parents have to get married on the 21st of January? Its Saturday for christ's sake! I can probably name a dozen other things off the top of my head that I'd rather be doing right now than look after this crummy old shitpile...
Okay, perhaps that was being a bit harsh. In all honesty, she DID like the store. It was pretty cool in a retro, outdated kind of way. For the most part, it mainly sold music albums, both on CD and old vinyl records. All of it was preowned of course, but Ruby kinda liked it that way. It meant that they sold just as much retro stuff as they sold relatively new stuff. Besides, she liked to believe that was part of the reason the shop had managed to survive for as long as it did. People liked having a place where they can go sell their old albums and buy used ones at for cheaper price then at the big megastores.
Not that business had been perfect. Far from it in fact. The shop just barely earned enough money to keep itself and Ruby's family from going bankrupt, which along with the wages her mother earned from her job meant that they had little to spare on relatively unimportant commodities like games or DVDs. Heck, the hippy who just left was the sixth customer that day, and the second one who actually bought anything. Her dad tried to improve the shop by turning the basement into "Movie Heaven", where people could purchase old DVDs and video cassetes. And whilst that did improve business a little, it was still hardly enough to make any a real difference. Then again, a part of Ruby was glad that it didn't. After all, they were doing perfectly fine anyway, and she would have hated it if her father decided to sell out or something. Although, it wouldn't have hurt if the store earned a LITTLE more money...
Still, right now, all Ruby really wanted was someone to talk to. She could always try chatting with Vincent again, but he was hardly a barrel of laughs. He was always going on about conspiracy theories about how the country is slowly becoming an Orwellian dictatorship, and whilst it was sometimes interesting to hear what he had to say there were plenty of times when she was tempted to tell him to just shut the hell up and go back to work. And right now, she wasn't really up to listening to his latest theories. Besides, he was too busy sorting out the shelves downstairs anyway. Apparently some guy donated his entire James Bond VHS collection, which meant that Vincent had to decide on which videos should stay on the shelves and which should go into storage until they had more room. Not exactly the most interesting job in the world, but at least he was actively doing something, the lucky bastard.
Hrmm, I guess could play some more Angry Birds or something...
Almost as if it were on cue, her phone began to rang, playing that annoying ringtone that Ruby had been meaning to change for months now.
Regan?!? Oh, no wait, it's Brian. Still, FINALLY, some human interaction!
"Hello? Hey Brian, what's up?"
.....
"Oh? How was it?"
.....
"Ahuh..."
.....
"Wait, what? For real?"
.....
"Wow. I've got to admit, I'm genuinely surprised to hear that they finally did it. I mean, I guess it was bound to happen eventually, but still....."
.....
"Wait, how do I know you're not just pulling my leg?"
.....
"I kinda can't watch it right now, I'm looking after my dad's store..."
.....
"Oh no, don't worry, you're not interrupting anything. This place is practically a ghost town this time of day..."
.....
"Alright, cool, I guess I'll see you on monday then?"
.....
"I'll watch it when I get back, but if she DOESN'T speak I'm telling everyone what your latest desktop looks like, okay?"
.....
"Heh, alright, seeya then, bye."
*beep*
Well... That was interesting. Shame I'm still stuck here for the next couple of hours. Ugh...
So, with her phonecall over, Ruby resumed slumping as she began to consider all the possibly ways she could spend the evening once her work shift was over. She could always see whether or not Regan wanted to hang out, but somehow she got the feeling she was busy doing band practice or something tonight. And she wasn't really in the mood for Aiden and Hawke's snarky comments after having to deal with Mr "Danya caused 9/11" all day.
Ah well, look on the bright side. At least you haven't had any really annoying customers yet...
Life is like a broken record
-
Frozen Smoke
- Posts: 515
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:50 pm
Jimmy opened the door to the shop. He liked the shops in this area of town, they were all small little things, that sold really specialised things. Well, not really specialized things, like left handed motorcycle riding glove stores, but not the big glomp of everything that stores in the other parts of town were becoming. It was sort of nice being able to roll on through 5 different stores and not see the same thing twice. It was something that felt, like, really inspiring. Also, they tended to sell some pretty cool stuff, like radio kits that he was pretty sure were from the Cold War, or weird clothes that looked like they belonged both in the 1970's and 2070's at the same time, or in this places case, music in a hard form.
iTunes and it's best buddies should have, by all rights killed these places off, for convenience and selection, but to him there was something reassuring in looking at a big lump of plastic and going "this is mine". It seemed somehow more secure, despite the fact that the little piece of logic in his brain told him that it was actually soooooo much more easy to damage. His dog couldn't chew the internet, after all. Or atleast, not the whole of the internet. His router was part of the internet, so he could probably eat some of it, but that was beside the point.
He wandered around the isles, waiting for something to leap out at him. Figuratively, of course. CD's don't actively leap at people unless they're involved in an elaborate practical joke. But the isles were fairly normally laid out, and the only ones that he looked at were ones he already owned, though it took him a few moments to realise that, yes, he did have the original "House Of The Rising Sun", in vinyl. He put it back delicately, and looked up above the racks, and spied a different person at the till than normal, a chick that seemed familiar, which meant that she was either on a movie he owned, someone he had talked to over the net, or someone from school. So, seeing as she didn't look like an actress and she didn't look like the kind to enjoy prolonged conversations about pop culture, that meant that she was someone he knew from school.
He was racking his brains, trying to put a name to the face, when he spotted a CD that tugged the cords of his attention. "The Modern Glitch", by The Wombats.
Cool name.
He picked it up and scanned the back of the case, looking at the tracks on the back. "Techno Fan", "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)", "Girls/Fast Cars"? This was his type of band dammit.
He walked through the maze of isles, rather than around it, deciding that he should as well make sure there was nothing else he'd inadvertently miss by just going "Must have now". All those stories of how celebrities got famous happened like that, right? They just decided to take the longer, more awkward route doing something, and somehow discovered something, through sheer coincidence, that made them make something awesome. It was unlikely, but, hey, he was here to burn time.
He eventually exited the maze at the front of the counter, holding the exact same CD in one hand, and completely nothing in the other.
Though he had remembered the girls name, having had his memory jogged by an album of the Beatles, which had reminded him of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, which had made him thing about Diamonds and jewelerry, which had led to the sudden realization that the girls name was Ruby, and that he was enormously stupid for not remembering that earlier.
"Hiya Ruby!"
iTunes and it's best buddies should have, by all rights killed these places off, for convenience and selection, but to him there was something reassuring in looking at a big lump of plastic and going "this is mine". It seemed somehow more secure, despite the fact that the little piece of logic in his brain told him that it was actually soooooo much more easy to damage. His dog couldn't chew the internet, after all. Or atleast, not the whole of the internet. His router was part of the internet, so he could probably eat some of it, but that was beside the point.
He wandered around the isles, waiting for something to leap out at him. Figuratively, of course. CD's don't actively leap at people unless they're involved in an elaborate practical joke. But the isles were fairly normally laid out, and the only ones that he looked at were ones he already owned, though it took him a few moments to realise that, yes, he did have the original "House Of The Rising Sun", in vinyl. He put it back delicately, and looked up above the racks, and spied a different person at the till than normal, a chick that seemed familiar, which meant that she was either on a movie he owned, someone he had talked to over the net, or someone from school. So, seeing as she didn't look like an actress and she didn't look like the kind to enjoy prolonged conversations about pop culture, that meant that she was someone he knew from school.
He was racking his brains, trying to put a name to the face, when he spotted a CD that tugged the cords of his attention. "The Modern Glitch", by The Wombats.
Cool name.
He picked it up and scanned the back of the case, looking at the tracks on the back. "Techno Fan", "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)", "Girls/Fast Cars"? This was his type of band dammit.
He walked through the maze of isles, rather than around it, deciding that he should as well make sure there was nothing else he'd inadvertently miss by just going "Must have now". All those stories of how celebrities got famous happened like that, right? They just decided to take the longer, more awkward route doing something, and somehow discovered something, through sheer coincidence, that made them make something awesome. It was unlikely, but, hey, he was here to burn time.
He eventually exited the maze at the front of the counter, holding the exact same CD in one hand, and completely nothing in the other.
Though he had remembered the girls name, having had his memory jogged by an album of the Beatles, which had reminded him of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, which had made him thing about Diamonds and jewelerry, which had led to the sudden realization that the girls name was Ruby, and that he was enormously stupid for not remembering that earlier.
"Hiya Ruby!"
Criticism or thoughts on my writing are welcome and appreciated - always looking to improve! Feel free to poke me on Discord or via PM.
((Rachael Langdon continued from All Happy Classes are Alike; Each Unhappy Class is Unhappy in their Own Way))
Rachael slowly entered the record store, trying to get in before the big gust of wind knocked her down. She had chosen to go wander around the shopping area that day, but she forgot how cold it would be. She did dress appropriately, wearing her large pea coat, a thick sweater, some white gloves, and long dark pants. She left the home shortly after showering, so her long hair was down and still kind of wet. The cold weather and heavy wind blew her hair all over the place, making it very messy and tangled. She did at least wear a beanie so she could try and cover her head.
Rachael had been to the record store a few times before. She didn't like the idea of buying music illegally, and she wasn't always a fan of the iTunes practice of buying one song at a time or buying a whole album for a large price. The record store had some good deals, so Rachael found that shopping here would at least save her some money.
Plus, it was January, Bjork's Biophilia came out in October. She had listened to it online, but she felt it was about time she owned the CD for herself. She was sure the store might have a copy, and maybe some other collectibles. She didn't have a record player, but if she could find a vinyl copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, she would be really happy.
Rachael moved around the isles, scanning for the right names. The B section did have Bjork, but not Biophilia. Rachael wasn't sure if they sold out, or if they just didn't carry the album.
Rachael pulled a Capri-Sun out of her bag. She liked to drink while she was out, and the fruit drinks were always handy to have. Plus, they didn't spill that easily. She continued to browse the isles, hoping she could find some good CDs or possibly a Beatles record.
That's when she noticed Ruby. Rachael knew Ruby from newspaper club. She was pretty cool, and pretty handy with her writing. Ruby was apparently talking to someone at the counter, she couldn't see who it was, but she decided to go say hi.
She walked up to the counter, sipping her Capri-Sun in the process.
"Hey Ruby," she said softly, "do you have Bjork's Biophilia?"
Rachael slowly entered the record store, trying to get in before the big gust of wind knocked her down. She had chosen to go wander around the shopping area that day, but she forgot how cold it would be. She did dress appropriately, wearing her large pea coat, a thick sweater, some white gloves, and long dark pants. She left the home shortly after showering, so her long hair was down and still kind of wet. The cold weather and heavy wind blew her hair all over the place, making it very messy and tangled. She did at least wear a beanie so she could try and cover her head.
Rachael had been to the record store a few times before. She didn't like the idea of buying music illegally, and she wasn't always a fan of the iTunes practice of buying one song at a time or buying a whole album for a large price. The record store had some good deals, so Rachael found that shopping here would at least save her some money.
Plus, it was January, Bjork's Biophilia came out in October. She had listened to it online, but she felt it was about time she owned the CD for herself. She was sure the store might have a copy, and maybe some other collectibles. She didn't have a record player, but if she could find a vinyl copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, she would be really happy.
Rachael moved around the isles, scanning for the right names. The B section did have Bjork, but not Biophilia. Rachael wasn't sure if they sold out, or if they just didn't carry the album.
Rachael pulled a Capri-Sun out of her bag. She liked to drink while she was out, and the fruit drinks were always handy to have. Plus, they didn't spill that easily. She continued to browse the isles, hoping she could find some good CDs or possibly a Beatles record.
That's when she noticed Ruby. Rachael knew Ruby from newspaper club. She was pretty cool, and pretty handy with her writing. Ruby was apparently talking to someone at the counter, she couldn't see who it was, but she decided to go say hi.
She walked up to the counter, sipping her Capri-Sun in the process.
"Hey Ruby," she said softly, "do you have Bjork's Biophilia?"
C'mon, don't fail me now you fat red bastard... DAMNIT, screw this game!
After wasting the next fifteen or so minutes playing Angry Birds on her iPhone, Ruby decided to just plug her earphones in and listen to Red Hot Chilli Peppers instead.
For as long as she could remember, Ruby had always had a thing for alternative rock music. Probably because of the fact that her dad had forced her to listen to all his old albums as a kid, but she liked to believe that wasn't the only reason why, especially seeing as her dad's old band wasn't actually all that good. They didn't suck per se, they just weren't exactly that special or unique compared to all the other major grunge bands at the time. Besides, whilst she did actually like grunge rock, right now she was more in the mood for something a little more melancholic. Not TOO melancholic of course, but that's what she liked about the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Their songs managed to have a melancholy feel to them without coming across as overtly depressing.
Well, most of their songs were like that anyway.
Ruby sighed as she turned to look at herself in the small mirror that had been haphazardly mounted on the wall to her left, with the words "Don't forget to always smile!" written on a sticky note just beside it. She was beginning to consider whether or not she should change her hair colour again, seeing as she had kept it the same bright red hue for the past few months now, when all of a sudden someone began to speak to her.
"Hiya Ruby!"
Gah! Where did he come from?
Whilst Ruby was vaguely aware that someone had entered the store, she'd assumed that they were just another browser who had entered the store out of pure curiosity alone. Whilst that may still be the case, not only was this browser in particular interested in starting a conversation, but apparently they recognised her as well. And, come to think of it, Ruby recognised him as well. Didn't he go to Aurora High as well or something?
"Whuh? Oh sorry, uh, hey there! Um..." she said, trying desperately to remember his name as she removed her earphones.
Tony? Uh, no, Jaime? Um, FUCK, er.... Mickey? No, it definitely started with a J.... Jaaay.... Uh, Johnny? No, Jerry? No, um... JIMMY! That's it!
"...Jimmy? Yes, Jimmy! Right. Uh.... How're you?" she asked uncertainly, still feeling somewhat caught off-guard.
Whilst she and Jimmy weren't exactly compadres, from what she remembered about him he always struck her as a pretty friendly guy. He was a fellow filmaholic too, although unlike her he actually took it to the next step by filming his own little shorts. She'd seen couple of them on youtube once out of curiosity. They were alright. Nothing too special as far as Ruby was concerned, but better then most of a REALLY bad home movies you usually find online.
"Good, you know, saturdays are, with the whole "no school" thing. Hows things yourself?" replied Jimmy, whom thankfully didn't seem to take any obvious offence to the fact that Ruby just forgot what his name was.
"Good, good... So, um, are you just browsing then? Or..." asked Ruby, noticing the CD case that Jimmy was holding.
"Oh urm, yeah, I am exchanging goods for monetary units..." he said, placing the CD on the counter as he reached for his wallet.
"The Wombats huh? Interesting choice..." she said, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Oh, what, are they like, pop music or something? I sorta just picked it up on a whim, 'cos it has a cool name and apparently has a track dedicated to the year 1996, which is pretty swanky"
Ruby shrugged. "Beats me. Feel free to let me know if they're any good or not."
After handing her the required 'monetary units', as he liked to put it, Jimmy decided to change the subject.
"So what's up with you holding the fort, normally I dont see you at the desk. Or the store at all really."
Ruby sighed. "Well, today happens to be my parents wedding anniversary, and since my dad's a lazy ass at heart he thought it'd be a bright idea to have me watch the store all day."
"Aw, come on, wedding anniversaries are cute. It's just your parents turning back into teenagers again, like that really crappy movie that came out two years ago. And anyways, afterwards they're happy and forgiving and stuff, so you can bet on them being more lenient than usual for a week or two. Bummer that you got stuck with the store though, id've thought you guys'd shut doors for something like that."
Ruby smiled. "You'd of thought so, wouldn't you? Oh well, at least I..."
"Hey Ruby,"
At that point, Racheal Langdon from book club showed up, asking if the store had a copy of Bjork's Biophilia.
"Oh, hey Racheal. Um... I think we might have it on vinyl, but as far as I know we don't have any CD copies i'm afraid."
After wasting the next fifteen or so minutes playing Angry Birds on her iPhone, Ruby decided to just plug her earphones in and listen to Red Hot Chilli Peppers instead.
For as long as she could remember, Ruby had always had a thing for alternative rock music. Probably because of the fact that her dad had forced her to listen to all his old albums as a kid, but she liked to believe that wasn't the only reason why, especially seeing as her dad's old band wasn't actually all that good. They didn't suck per se, they just weren't exactly that special or unique compared to all the other major grunge bands at the time. Besides, whilst she did actually like grunge rock, right now she was more in the mood for something a little more melancholic. Not TOO melancholic of course, but that's what she liked about the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Their songs managed to have a melancholy feel to them without coming across as overtly depressing.
Well, most of their songs were like that anyway.
Ruby sighed as she turned to look at herself in the small mirror that had been haphazardly mounted on the wall to her left, with the words "Don't forget to always smile!" written on a sticky note just beside it. She was beginning to consider whether or not she should change her hair colour again, seeing as she had kept it the same bright red hue for the past few months now, when all of a sudden someone began to speak to her.
"Hiya Ruby!"
Gah! Where did he come from?
Whilst Ruby was vaguely aware that someone had entered the store, she'd assumed that they were just another browser who had entered the store out of pure curiosity alone. Whilst that may still be the case, not only was this browser in particular interested in starting a conversation, but apparently they recognised her as well. And, come to think of it, Ruby recognised him as well. Didn't he go to Aurora High as well or something?
"Whuh? Oh sorry, uh, hey there! Um..." she said, trying desperately to remember his name as she removed her earphones.
Tony? Uh, no, Jaime? Um, FUCK, er.... Mickey? No, it definitely started with a J.... Jaaay.... Uh, Johnny? No, Jerry? No, um... JIMMY! That's it!
"...Jimmy? Yes, Jimmy! Right. Uh.... How're you?" she asked uncertainly, still feeling somewhat caught off-guard.
Whilst she and Jimmy weren't exactly compadres, from what she remembered about him he always struck her as a pretty friendly guy. He was a fellow filmaholic too, although unlike her he actually took it to the next step by filming his own little shorts. She'd seen couple of them on youtube once out of curiosity. They were alright. Nothing too special as far as Ruby was concerned, but better then most of a REALLY bad home movies you usually find online.
"Good, you know, saturdays are, with the whole "no school" thing. Hows things yourself?" replied Jimmy, whom thankfully didn't seem to take any obvious offence to the fact that Ruby just forgot what his name was.
"Good, good... So, um, are you just browsing then? Or..." asked Ruby, noticing the CD case that Jimmy was holding.
"Oh urm, yeah, I am exchanging goods for monetary units..." he said, placing the CD on the counter as he reached for his wallet.
"The Wombats huh? Interesting choice..." she said, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Oh, what, are they like, pop music or something? I sorta just picked it up on a whim, 'cos it has a cool name and apparently has a track dedicated to the year 1996, which is pretty swanky"
Ruby shrugged. "Beats me. Feel free to let me know if they're any good or not."
After handing her the required 'monetary units', as he liked to put it, Jimmy decided to change the subject.
"So what's up with you holding the fort, normally I dont see you at the desk. Or the store at all really."
Ruby sighed. "Well, today happens to be my parents wedding anniversary, and since my dad's a lazy ass at heart he thought it'd be a bright idea to have me watch the store all day."
"Aw, come on, wedding anniversaries are cute. It's just your parents turning back into teenagers again, like that really crappy movie that came out two years ago. And anyways, afterwards they're happy and forgiving and stuff, so you can bet on them being more lenient than usual for a week or two. Bummer that you got stuck with the store though, id've thought you guys'd shut doors for something like that."
Ruby smiled. "You'd of thought so, wouldn't you? Oh well, at least I..."
"Hey Ruby,"
At that point, Racheal Langdon from book club showed up, asking if the store had a copy of Bjork's Biophilia.
"Oh, hey Racheal. Um... I think we might have it on vinyl, but as far as I know we don't have any CD copies i'm afraid."
-
Frozen Smoke
- Posts: 515
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:50 pm
The girl sputtered for a moment, appearing to forget his name for a second, before managing to form words with her mouth that made sense. He smiled at that. He couldn't take offence to that, seeing as it'd taken The Beatles to let him remember her name, that'd be so insanely hypocritical. And not even in a funny way. Which blew, because things being funny was like, the lifeblood of life on the weekends, even if it's only a way you know about.
"Good, you know, saturdays are, with the whole "no school" thing. Hows things yourself?" He responded quickly.
"Good, good... So, um, are you just browsing then? Or..." She asked, eyeing the case in his hand.
He was really, really tempted for a moment to tell her "No, this is a robbery" in a cheesy accent, and make a gun shape from beneath his light blue Superdry jumper, but there was the chance that she'd not get the reference, and like, call the cops. Which'd be totally bogus. So, instead, he cut himself off and switched up the reference entirely "Oh urm, yeah, I am exchanging goods for monetary units..."
He then pulled out his wallet and started leafing through it, pulling out notes and coins with no real pattern. He should really organise his wallet, but, meh, he could do that sometime he was like, really bored. He had better things to worry about now. Like the sound of "Californication" leaking out from her headphones. Damn good song. A nice song to listen to to waste time to in a place like this to. He marked one point against her on the "Taste of Music" tally that he had going on in his head.
"The Wombats huh? Interesting choice..." She said, apparently studying his choice of music.
He was suddenly worried that the music was bad. Something was only "Interesting" when it was something bad, or something really good, but they didn't want to expressly say as such. "Oh, what, are they like, pop music or something? I sorta just picked it up on a whim, 'cos it has a cool name and apparently has a track dedicated to the year 1996, which is pretty swanky"
Oh wow, did I seriously just say "Swanky"? Awesome. If I kept a diary, I'd be all like "Dear Diary, Today I said Swanky unironically in casual conversation. Today was a good day"
"Beats me. Feel free to let me know if they're any good or not."
Ooooooh, she meant that in an actual dictionary way! He nodded a little in response, and pulled out the correct collection of paper and metal and put it on the table. He always liked to get exact change if he could, it seemed like it was giving the people at the counter less work to do, and made his wallet feel that little bit less like a cinder-block, which everything costing something something 99 cents had made it into.
It was at this point he heard the buzz in her headphones shift into Can't Stop. He started to subtly nod his head to the tune as he continued the conversation on a completely different track, "So what's up with you holding the fort, normally I dont see you at the desk. Or the store at all really."
"Well, today happens to be my parents wedding anniversary, and since my dad's a lazy ass at heart he thought it'd be a bright idea to have me watch the store all day."
He smiled at that. Cynicism, got to love it in a woman.
"Aw, come on, wedding anniversaries are cute. It's just your parents turning back into teenagers again, like that really crappy movie that came out two years ago. And anyways, afterwards they're happy and forgiving and stuff, so you can bet on them being more lenient than usual for a week or two. Bummer that you got stuck with the store though, id've thought you guys'd shut doors for something like that."
She began to reply, when another girl jumped into the conversation, asking if the store held Bjorks Biophillia. Oh man, like a gold star on the "Taste of Music" chart for her, that was an awesome song. It was the kind of thing he planned to, with the melody of it really getting his neurons firing for some weird reason, despite the tune being fairly slow in comparison to the normal stuff he planned to. Like Cloudsmasher, or Night Music.
He grinned.
"Oh, man, you guys do that in vinyl? Seriously? That is like, the coolest thing ever. I'm totally getting that." He said, evidently loving the prospect of being able to queue up Bjork's Biophillia alongside The Beatles and some other band that began with "B" in his auto changer. Because, come on, how could that not be the most awesome thing?
"Good, you know, saturdays are, with the whole "no school" thing. Hows things yourself?" He responded quickly.
"Good, good... So, um, are you just browsing then? Or..." She asked, eyeing the case in his hand.
He was really, really tempted for a moment to tell her "No, this is a robbery" in a cheesy accent, and make a gun shape from beneath his light blue Superdry jumper, but there was the chance that she'd not get the reference, and like, call the cops. Which'd be totally bogus. So, instead, he cut himself off and switched up the reference entirely "Oh urm, yeah, I am exchanging goods for monetary units..."
He then pulled out his wallet and started leafing through it, pulling out notes and coins with no real pattern. He should really organise his wallet, but, meh, he could do that sometime he was like, really bored. He had better things to worry about now. Like the sound of "Californication" leaking out from her headphones. Damn good song. A nice song to listen to to waste time to in a place like this to. He marked one point against her on the "Taste of Music" tally that he had going on in his head.
"The Wombats huh? Interesting choice..." She said, apparently studying his choice of music.
He was suddenly worried that the music was bad. Something was only "Interesting" when it was something bad, or something really good, but they didn't want to expressly say as such. "Oh, what, are they like, pop music or something? I sorta just picked it up on a whim, 'cos it has a cool name and apparently has a track dedicated to the year 1996, which is pretty swanky"
Oh wow, did I seriously just say "Swanky"? Awesome. If I kept a diary, I'd be all like "Dear Diary, Today I said Swanky unironically in casual conversation. Today was a good day"
"Beats me. Feel free to let me know if they're any good or not."
Ooooooh, she meant that in an actual dictionary way! He nodded a little in response, and pulled out the correct collection of paper and metal and put it on the table. He always liked to get exact change if he could, it seemed like it was giving the people at the counter less work to do, and made his wallet feel that little bit less like a cinder-block, which everything costing something something 99 cents had made it into.
It was at this point he heard the buzz in her headphones shift into Can't Stop. He started to subtly nod his head to the tune as he continued the conversation on a completely different track, "So what's up with you holding the fort, normally I dont see you at the desk. Or the store at all really."
"Well, today happens to be my parents wedding anniversary, and since my dad's a lazy ass at heart he thought it'd be a bright idea to have me watch the store all day."
He smiled at that. Cynicism, got to love it in a woman.
"Aw, come on, wedding anniversaries are cute. It's just your parents turning back into teenagers again, like that really crappy movie that came out two years ago. And anyways, afterwards they're happy and forgiving and stuff, so you can bet on them being more lenient than usual for a week or two. Bummer that you got stuck with the store though, id've thought you guys'd shut doors for something like that."
She began to reply, when another girl jumped into the conversation, asking if the store held Bjorks Biophillia. Oh man, like a gold star on the "Taste of Music" chart for her, that was an awesome song. It was the kind of thing he planned to, with the melody of it really getting his neurons firing for some weird reason, despite the tune being fairly slow in comparison to the normal stuff he planned to. Like Cloudsmasher, or Night Music.
He grinned.
"Oh, man, you guys do that in vinyl? Seriously? That is like, the coolest thing ever. I'm totally getting that." He said, evidently loving the prospect of being able to queue up Bjork's Biophillia alongside The Beatles and some other band that began with "B" in his auto changer. Because, come on, how could that not be the most awesome thing?
Criticism or thoughts on my writing are welcome and appreciated - always looking to improve! Feel free to poke me on Discord or via PM.
"Oh, hey Rachael. Um... I think we might have it on vinyl, but as far as I know we don't have any CD copies i'm afraid."
"Oh, I see-"
"Oh, man, you guys do that in vinyl? Seriously? That is like, the coolest thing ever. I'm totally getting that."
Rachael silently moved over to the vinyl section of the store. She began to search through the bins, hoping there was a copy of Biophilia in the bins somewhere.
I doubt it has a vinyl copy. Bjork is weird, but I don't think she went that far back. Still, even if there was a vinyl, I don't have a record player. Well, might as well see if it is here.
Rachael continued to search through the bins and sip on her Capri-Sun. Suddenly, Rachael froze.
By the gods, no way!
Rachael pulled the vinyl out of the bin. On the paper envelope, Rachael identified Edgar Allan Poe, Bob Dylan, Aldous Huxley, Marilyn Monroe, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Marlon Brando, Lewis Carroll, Shirley Temple, Albert Einstein, and four young men from Liverpool.
She had found Sgt. Peppers.
Rachael held the paper envelope in front of her in amazement. She felt like she had just discovered the Holy Grail, and it was in her hands.
Rachael hurried back over to the checkout counter counter.
"H-hey, I would like this," she said, placing the record on the counter and pulling her wallet out of her bag. "It's not Bjork, but it's just as good."
"Oh, I see-"
"Oh, man, you guys do that in vinyl? Seriously? That is like, the coolest thing ever. I'm totally getting that."
Rachael silently moved over to the vinyl section of the store. She began to search through the bins, hoping there was a copy of Biophilia in the bins somewhere.
I doubt it has a vinyl copy. Bjork is weird, but I don't think she went that far back. Still, even if there was a vinyl, I don't have a record player. Well, might as well see if it is here.
Rachael continued to search through the bins and sip on her Capri-Sun. Suddenly, Rachael froze.
By the gods, no way!
Rachael pulled the vinyl out of the bin. On the paper envelope, Rachael identified Edgar Allan Poe, Bob Dylan, Aldous Huxley, Marilyn Monroe, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Marlon Brando, Lewis Carroll, Shirley Temple, Albert Einstein, and four young men from Liverpool.
She had found Sgt. Peppers.
Rachael held the paper envelope in front of her in amazement. She felt like she had just discovered the Holy Grail, and it was in her hands.
Rachael hurried back over to the checkout counter counter.
"H-hey, I would like this," she said, placing the record on the counter and pulling her wallet out of her bag. "It's not Bjork, but it's just as good."
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Cash Money*
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2019 9:44 am
((Randall Cimora continued from Dripping Dream))
D-ding-ding.
Randall knew that sound, and appreciated it, both for its own sonorous qualities and for what it meant. And what it meant was something glorious: Record Store Day. Not the actual Record Store Day that involved truckloads of indie bands putting out limited edition 45s to get everybody to support their local record stores. No, this was just the day when he finally cashed his Christmas check from the folks down South. And there was, of course, exactly one thing the money was going to be spent on: sweet, sweet vintage vinyl.
He stepped inside and took in the smell of... well, he wasn't sure exactly what it was, beside "record store" obviously, but it was all part of the neighborhood record store atmosphere. Also contributing to that atmosphere were things like posters, old carpet, and of course records. Aisles and aisles of... actually, there were only a few aisles of records, but then again that just meant he could look at them all.
Where am I gonna start looking today? Lemme see... nothing coming to mind, I'm gonna go with the alphabet. He mentally cursed himself for not having at least some idea of what he wanted to look for, but at the same time realized that chance discoveries were part of the whole experience.
On his way over to the start of the alphabet, he passed that one shy girl from class. Rachel, he thought. She looked like she was searching for something pretty intensely, so he figured he shouldn't bother her or anything...
She pulled out what she must have been looking for. It was a copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the best album of all time depending on who you asked. And it was in pretty good condition, too. It wasn't that unusual of a find - the Beatles were the biggest band ever, after all - but having a good copy of it for a decent price was a mark of a quality record store, such as this one.
"Oh hey, that there's a good one!" He said this to nobody in particular - well, mainly to Rachel, but also to whoever was working behind the counter today - wait, was that Ruby? He knew her dad owned this place, but he had no idea she worked here.
Ruby ruby ruby rubaaaaay! Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah...
Dammit. Ah well, that was one of the hazards of having a mental iPod - you're going along your normal business, when all of a sudden something reminds you of the Kaiser Chiefs' "Ruby" and presto!, you have it stuck in your head for the next three hours.
The airy sound of sleeve falling against sleeve occupied the next several seconds as Randall flipped through the bin until he found something he wanted. He had no idea why there was a Steely Dan record in the A section - maybe some clueless shopper thought the band name was Aja? - but that was not going to be the store's problem for much longer. Randall headed over to the record counter and set the sleeve down.
"Hi Ruby! I'm not sure if I told you before, but this place is great. Would you mind keeping a running stack over here? This might take a while."
D-ding-ding.
Randall knew that sound, and appreciated it, both for its own sonorous qualities and for what it meant. And what it meant was something glorious: Record Store Day. Not the actual Record Store Day that involved truckloads of indie bands putting out limited edition 45s to get everybody to support their local record stores. No, this was just the day when he finally cashed his Christmas check from the folks down South. And there was, of course, exactly one thing the money was going to be spent on: sweet, sweet vintage vinyl.
He stepped inside and took in the smell of... well, he wasn't sure exactly what it was, beside "record store" obviously, but it was all part of the neighborhood record store atmosphere. Also contributing to that atmosphere were things like posters, old carpet, and of course records. Aisles and aisles of... actually, there were only a few aisles of records, but then again that just meant he could look at them all.
Where am I gonna start looking today? Lemme see... nothing coming to mind, I'm gonna go with the alphabet. He mentally cursed himself for not having at least some idea of what he wanted to look for, but at the same time realized that chance discoveries were part of the whole experience.
On his way over to the start of the alphabet, he passed that one shy girl from class. Rachel, he thought. She looked like she was searching for something pretty intensely, so he figured he shouldn't bother her or anything...
She pulled out what she must have been looking for. It was a copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the best album of all time depending on who you asked. And it was in pretty good condition, too. It wasn't that unusual of a find - the Beatles were the biggest band ever, after all - but having a good copy of it for a decent price was a mark of a quality record store, such as this one.
"Oh hey, that there's a good one!" He said this to nobody in particular - well, mainly to Rachel, but also to whoever was working behind the counter today - wait, was that Ruby? He knew her dad owned this place, but he had no idea she worked here.
Ruby ruby ruby rubaaaaay! Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah...
Dammit. Ah well, that was one of the hazards of having a mental iPod - you're going along your normal business, when all of a sudden something reminds you of the Kaiser Chiefs' "Ruby" and presto!, you have it stuck in your head for the next three hours.
The airy sound of sleeve falling against sleeve occupied the next several seconds as Randall flipped through the bin until he found something he wanted. He had no idea why there was a Steely Dan record in the A section - maybe some clueless shopper thought the band name was Aja? - but that was not going to be the store's problem for much longer. Randall headed over to the record counter and set the sleeve down.
"Hi Ruby! I'm not sure if I told you before, but this place is great. Would you mind keeping a running stack over here? This might take a while."
And, just as quickly as they arrived, Rachael and Jimmy had zoomed off to go search the vinyl bins for the album Rachael mentioned.
Odd. Since when did all my classmates become Bjork fans?
Ruby shrugged off the thought as she plugged her earphones back in and resumed listening to Saviour, only this time she made sure that her gaze didn't leave her current customers. After all, she always preferred being fully aware of new customers arriving to them sneaking in and causing her to jump out of her skin. Speaking of new customers, it seemed as though another of her classmates had entered the shop and started browsing the vinyl bins. Randall Cimora from the looks of things. An alright guy, but not someone who Ruby was too familiar with.
Rachael on the other hands was someone she knew reasonably well from book club. She was also into creative writing, and like Ruby she wanted to become an accomplished author someday, so naturally thats what the two of them spoke about the most. She had a couple of interesting ideas, and Ruby was never personally all that fond of fantasy, she could tell that Rachael definitely had a lot of potential. That said, Ruby was kinda surprised to hear that she was a Bjork fan. Heck, she was surprised to hear that Jimmy was a Bjork fan too. Since when did weird esoteric singers from the 1960's become popular amongst highschool students?
...Or was she from the 1970's? She was the one who married John Lennon, right?
Wait... Nonono, I'm getting people mixed up. Yoko Ono was the weird singer who married John Lennon, not Bjork. Bjork was... Come to think of it, who the heck IS Bjork? Was she even alive during the 1960's? And when the heck did that album Biophilia come out anyway?
The more she thought about it, the more she realised that she may have completely screwed up and gotten Bjork confused with other musicians. She never really listened to any of Bjork's music, and now that she really thought about it she had no idea what decade she was most active during either. She'd assumed that she was mainly active during the 60's because of her reputation for writing weird music, but from all she knew Bjork might of only recently become popular. The album's name rang a bell though, seeing as she had read it somewhere recently. But where? And more importantly, did they have it? She definitely knew that they had some of Yoko Ono's stuff on vinyl, but now that she thought about it she wasn't entirely convinced that they really DID have this album on vinyl...
Then it hit her.
...Crap
The moment she remembered where she had read about Bjork's Biophilia, she very almost slapped herself across the face. Because it was at that point that she remembered that she had originally read about it from a "New releases" article she found in a magazine. A magazine she only brought a few months ago.
Fuck, i'm an idiot. Biophilia only came out LAST year! There couldn't possibly be a vinyl copy of it!
Well, now she found herself with two options. Either she admitted that she had completely screwed up and got Bjork confused with Yoko Ono, or she let her friends continue searching for a vinyl album that doesn't actually exist.
In the end, she decided to go with the former.
"Oh shit, wait guys, I think I-"
However, before she could finish her sentence, Rachael returned to the counter with a very excited look on her face. For a moment Ruby thought that Rachael really DID just find Biophilia on vinyl, but then she noticed the iconic album cover that every true music fan would recognise within an instant.
"H-hey, I would like this, It's not Bjork, but it's just as good."
Ruby smiled uneasily as she scratched the back of her head, her cheeks turning rose red.
"Thats good, because I... Uh, was just about to tell you that I kinda messed up there and got Bjork and Yoko Ono mixed up. I mean, they both write weird songs right? Not that I've ever really listened to Bjork, but from what I've heard she's pretty odd. Biophilia only came out last year right? So of course there couldn't be any-"
At that point, Randall walked up and placed another record down on the counter.
"Hi Ruby! I'm not sure if I told you before, but this place is great. Would you mind keeping a running stack over here? This might take a while."
"Uh... Sure, go right ahead." she said, still feeling somewhat embarrassed for claiming to sell an album that doesn't even exist before turning back to Rachael.
"...Ahem. But yeah, uh, that'll be $10 please."
Reeeal smooth Ruby.
Odd. Since when did all my classmates become Bjork fans?
Ruby shrugged off the thought as she plugged her earphones back in and resumed listening to Saviour, only this time she made sure that her gaze didn't leave her current customers. After all, she always preferred being fully aware of new customers arriving to them sneaking in and causing her to jump out of her skin. Speaking of new customers, it seemed as though another of her classmates had entered the shop and started browsing the vinyl bins. Randall Cimora from the looks of things. An alright guy, but not someone who Ruby was too familiar with.
Rachael on the other hands was someone she knew reasonably well from book club. She was also into creative writing, and like Ruby she wanted to become an accomplished author someday, so naturally thats what the two of them spoke about the most. She had a couple of interesting ideas, and Ruby was never personally all that fond of fantasy, she could tell that Rachael definitely had a lot of potential. That said, Ruby was kinda surprised to hear that she was a Bjork fan. Heck, she was surprised to hear that Jimmy was a Bjork fan too. Since when did weird esoteric singers from the 1960's become popular amongst highschool students?
...Or was she from the 1970's? She was the one who married John Lennon, right?
Wait... Nonono, I'm getting people mixed up. Yoko Ono was the weird singer who married John Lennon, not Bjork. Bjork was... Come to think of it, who the heck IS Bjork? Was she even alive during the 1960's? And when the heck did that album Biophilia come out anyway?
The more she thought about it, the more she realised that she may have completely screwed up and gotten Bjork confused with other musicians. She never really listened to any of Bjork's music, and now that she really thought about it she had no idea what decade she was most active during either. She'd assumed that she was mainly active during the 60's because of her reputation for writing weird music, but from all she knew Bjork might of only recently become popular. The album's name rang a bell though, seeing as she had read it somewhere recently. But where? And more importantly, did they have it? She definitely knew that they had some of Yoko Ono's stuff on vinyl, but now that she thought about it she wasn't entirely convinced that they really DID have this album on vinyl...
Then it hit her.
...Crap
The moment she remembered where she had read about Bjork's Biophilia, she very almost slapped herself across the face. Because it was at that point that she remembered that she had originally read about it from a "New releases" article she found in a magazine. A magazine she only brought a few months ago.
Fuck, i'm an idiot. Biophilia only came out LAST year! There couldn't possibly be a vinyl copy of it!
Well, now she found herself with two options. Either she admitted that she had completely screwed up and got Bjork confused with Yoko Ono, or she let her friends continue searching for a vinyl album that doesn't actually exist.
In the end, she decided to go with the former.
"Oh shit, wait guys, I think I-"
However, before she could finish her sentence, Rachael returned to the counter with a very excited look on her face. For a moment Ruby thought that Rachael really DID just find Biophilia on vinyl, but then she noticed the iconic album cover that every true music fan would recognise within an instant.
"H-hey, I would like this, It's not Bjork, but it's just as good."
Ruby smiled uneasily as she scratched the back of her head, her cheeks turning rose red.
"Thats good, because I... Uh, was just about to tell you that I kinda messed up there and got Bjork and Yoko Ono mixed up. I mean, they both write weird songs right? Not that I've ever really listened to Bjork, but from what I've heard she's pretty odd. Biophilia only came out last year right? So of course there couldn't be any-"
At that point, Randall walked up and placed another record down on the counter.
"Hi Ruby! I'm not sure if I told you before, but this place is great. Would you mind keeping a running stack over here? This might take a while."
"Uh... Sure, go right ahead." she said, still feeling somewhat embarrassed for claiming to sell an album that doesn't even exist before turning back to Rachael.
"...Ahem. But yeah, uh, that'll be $10 please."
Reeeal smooth Ruby.
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Frozen Smoke
- Posts: 515
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:50 pm
Jimmy was digging through the bin, pulling out a few vinyls that had vaguely interesting covers before putting them back, because he either owned them, or on further inspection, they had sucky tracks. Which blew the big one. It took him a rather absurd amount of time to realize that he was in fact the only person looking through the bin, and the other girl had already left to buy what she wanted.
I bet that is like, the only copy of Bjork on vinyl that will ever turn up in this store
He looked sad for a moment, as he contemplated not owning something as cool as a modern vinyl, until he remembered that there were these wonderful things called E-Bay and Amazon, so he could grab them when he got home. Righteous.
He walked over to the desk, where a little crowd had gathered, with Rach' being accompanied by a new entrant to the store. Randy. Huh? Oh, no, Randall. Not Randy, that was a terrible name from the deep south during the 50's. Seriously, who names their kid "Randy"? It's like signing them up for a lifetime of red hair and red necks. He looked at them for a moment, and realized that there was a hell of a lot of R's in this room, three to be exact. That was pretty rad actually.
He picked up the CD he'd bought, and spun it in between two fingers, flicking it with his thumb and pressing down on the corners. It was a rather pointless, but highly entertaining skill that he had picked up, through years of picking through his CD collection.
I bet that is like, the only copy of Bjork on vinyl that will ever turn up in this store
He looked sad for a moment, as he contemplated not owning something as cool as a modern vinyl, until he remembered that there were these wonderful things called E-Bay and Amazon, so he could grab them when he got home. Righteous.
He walked over to the desk, where a little crowd had gathered, with Rach' being accompanied by a new entrant to the store. Randy. Huh? Oh, no, Randall. Not Randy, that was a terrible name from the deep south during the 50's. Seriously, who names their kid "Randy"? It's like signing them up for a lifetime of red hair and red necks. He looked at them for a moment, and realized that there was a hell of a lot of R's in this room, three to be exact. That was pretty rad actually.
He picked up the CD he'd bought, and spun it in between two fingers, flicking it with his thumb and pressing down on the corners. It was a rather pointless, but highly entertaining skill that he had picked up, through years of picking through his CD collection.
Criticism or thoughts on my writing are welcome and appreciated - always looking to improve! Feel free to poke me on Discord or via PM.
As Rachael held the album out to Ruby, she watched as Ruby's face got a bit red while she scratched the back of her neck.
"Thats good, because I... Uh, was just about to tell you that I kinda messed up there and got Bjork and Yoko Ono mixed up."
"No!" whispered Rachael.
I mean, they both write weird songs right? Not that I've ever really listened to Bjork, but from what I've heard she's pretty odd. Biophilia only came out last year right? So of course there couldn't be any-"
Suddenly, another person walked up to the counter. She recognized him as Randall Cimora, but she didn't know a whole lot about him other than his love of music.
"Hi Ruby! I'm not sure if I told you before, but this place is great. Would you mind keeping a running stack over here? This might take a while."
"Uh... Sure, go right ahead."
Rachael watched him hurry off to look in the bins before turning back to Ruby.
"...Ahem. But yeah, uh, that'll be $10 please."
"Of course," said Rachael, reaching into her bag to find her wallet.
"I figured Biophilia wouldn't be on vinyl since it only came out recently," she said as she continued to look through her messy bag. "I don't even have a record player, I just think it would be cool to own Sgt. Peppers on vinyl. Ah, here it is."
Rachael pulled her wallet out of her bag. She made a quick note to clean her bag out when she got home. She fished through the wallet and found a nice piece of paper with Alexander Hamilton on it and handed it to Ruby.
"Biophilia is a great listen though. I suggest listening to a few tracks online later. You should definitely listen to 'Crystalline' and 'Cosmogony', but some of the other tracks are really neat and use neat effects, like the song 'Thunderbolt' uses a Tesla coil."
"So anyways, how are you doing?"
"Thats good, because I... Uh, was just about to tell you that I kinda messed up there and got Bjork and Yoko Ono mixed up."
"No!" whispered Rachael.
I mean, they both write weird songs right? Not that I've ever really listened to Bjork, but from what I've heard she's pretty odd. Biophilia only came out last year right? So of course there couldn't be any-"
Suddenly, another person walked up to the counter. She recognized him as Randall Cimora, but she didn't know a whole lot about him other than his love of music.
"Hi Ruby! I'm not sure if I told you before, but this place is great. Would you mind keeping a running stack over here? This might take a while."
"Uh... Sure, go right ahead."
Rachael watched him hurry off to look in the bins before turning back to Ruby.
"...Ahem. But yeah, uh, that'll be $10 please."
"Of course," said Rachael, reaching into her bag to find her wallet.
"I figured Biophilia wouldn't be on vinyl since it only came out recently," she said as she continued to look through her messy bag. "I don't even have a record player, I just think it would be cool to own Sgt. Peppers on vinyl. Ah, here it is."
Rachael pulled her wallet out of her bag. She made a quick note to clean her bag out when she got home. She fished through the wallet and found a nice piece of paper with Alexander Hamilton on it and handed it to Ruby.
"Biophilia is a great listen though. I suggest listening to a few tracks online later. You should definitely listen to 'Crystalline' and 'Cosmogony', but some of the other tracks are really neat and use neat effects, like the song 'Thunderbolt' uses a Tesla coil."
"So anyways, how are you doing?"
Did that guy just say 'swanky'?
And that vinyls are the coolest thing ever?
And is that whiny little girl gonna shut up about Bork?
Three questions ran through Jasper Rourke's mind as he stood facing away towards a rack of old rock vinyls, from the gathering of dweebs that were clustered around the counter. For starters, how did he get stuck here with exactly four nerds on a perfectly fine Saturday afternoon? Usually there was some people who weren't the scourge of Seattle. Y'know, buddies. People who didn't exactly suck at life like these guys happened to. When you look like James Johnson over there and not the famed football coach of the exact same name in his prime, you've hit a wrong turn in life. Of course, none of these people probably even knew who he was. They probably couldn't even name one single member of the Seattle Seahawks. Hell, they probably didn't even know the Seahawks were the name of a football team. Some Americans they were.
When you have nothing interesting to talk about but shitty electronica shit or whatever the hell this 'Bork' was, or dumb shit like 'vid-yo games' or that 'animay' cartoonish crap, you tick off a guy like Jasper. The kids like them seemed to be trapped in their own fine and dandy little world where it was all sunshines and daisies and levels up and nobody gets picked on and everyone's equal and guys like Jimbo here were popular, so naturally it was Jasper's job to remedy that little anachronism in life.
He wasn't that far away from the desk when the little teachers pet called Rachel started yapping on like some kind of talking book about how 'neat' and 'cool' Bork was, so naturally, without even facing away from the rack of records Jasper couldn't help but let out, at the trail end of her little tribute, a loud snoring/snorting noise that kind of echoed throughout the store. Seriously, that girl needed to shut up and listen to real music. Springsteen, Zeppelin, Stones - what kind of name was Bork anyway? Some kind of bodily function?
"Oh, sorry girlies, were you saying something? I heard this "Bork" recently and, wouldn't you know it, I had this sudden urge to fall asleep," Jasper remarked while looking over his shoulder at the group gathered right over there. That ought to get a rise out of them. The little one with the plaits sounded especially passionate about something so stupid. Oh, and that Ruby chick at the counter hated his guts, but that was a whole different ballgame right there. This aught to be fun.
And that vinyls are the coolest thing ever?
And is that whiny little girl gonna shut up about Bork?
Three questions ran through Jasper Rourke's mind as he stood facing away towards a rack of old rock vinyls, from the gathering of dweebs that were clustered around the counter. For starters, how did he get stuck here with exactly four nerds on a perfectly fine Saturday afternoon? Usually there was some people who weren't the scourge of Seattle. Y'know, buddies. People who didn't exactly suck at life like these guys happened to. When you look like James Johnson over there and not the famed football coach of the exact same name in his prime, you've hit a wrong turn in life. Of course, none of these people probably even knew who he was. They probably couldn't even name one single member of the Seattle Seahawks. Hell, they probably didn't even know the Seahawks were the name of a football team. Some Americans they were.
When you have nothing interesting to talk about but shitty electronica shit or whatever the hell this 'Bork' was, or dumb shit like 'vid-yo games' or that 'animay' cartoonish crap, you tick off a guy like Jasper. The kids like them seemed to be trapped in their own fine and dandy little world where it was all sunshines and daisies and levels up and nobody gets picked on and everyone's equal and guys like Jimbo here were popular, so naturally it was Jasper's job to remedy that little anachronism in life.
He wasn't that far away from the desk when the little teachers pet called Rachel started yapping on like some kind of talking book about how 'neat' and 'cool' Bork was, so naturally, without even facing away from the rack of records Jasper couldn't help but let out, at the trail end of her little tribute, a loud snoring/snorting noise that kind of echoed throughout the store. Seriously, that girl needed to shut up and listen to real music. Springsteen, Zeppelin, Stones - what kind of name was Bork anyway? Some kind of bodily function?
"Oh, sorry girlies, were you saying something? I heard this "Bork" recently and, wouldn't you know it, I had this sudden urge to fall asleep," Jasper remarked while looking over his shoulder at the group gathered right over there. That ought to get a rise out of them. The little one with the plaits sounded especially passionate about something so stupid. Oh, and that Ruby chick at the counter hated his guts, but that was a whole different ballgame right there. This aught to be fun.
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Cash Money*
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2019 9:44 am
"Uh... sure, go right ahead."
Randall had caught a bit of the preceding conversation as he'd stepped up to the counter, and the embarrassment in Ruby's voice was evident. Apparently she'd gotten Björk mixed up with Yoko Ono. Randall smiled slightly out of amusement, but did so while realizing that it wasn't a hard mistake to make. They did both write "weird songs," as Ruby put it, both at least looked Asian to some extent, and both were widely known but written off by the general public as kooks more notable for their weird public mannerisms than for their considerable musical output. Rachel was at least interested in listening, though; that was a good sign.
Randall turned around and walked back over to the bins. He wouldn't want to interrupt any conversation Rachel and Ruby were going to have. The soft flipping resumed, and a veritable bounty of records caught his eye as he filed through the stacks. He had to exercise some self-control, otherwise this trip was going to spend a lot more than just his grandparents' check in a hurry. It was worth getting the Steely Dan record because it was the pinnacle of production for its day, or so he'd heard, and he wanted to check that claim out for himself in the original analog format. Any reason less compelling than that, though, was not worth spending money on. Randall's iTunes collection may have been huge, but his record collection was going to stay purposefully small and well-curated.
"Oh, sorry girlies, were you saying something?
Ugh. Just from the dismissive tone of voice, he could tell that it was one of those football-playing guys. The kind of clueless, insult and abuse-slinging meatheads who had surrounded him in middle school and made his life miserable. He'd stayed away from them as much as he could back then, both physically and ideologically, and keeping his head down was a way of life. He was done with that now, though. In Seattle, he could be exactly who he wanted to be.
Except apparently those meatheads were now invading one of his favorite record stores. And harassing the cashiers, and dismissing the customers, and...
I heard this "Bork" recently and, wouldn't you know it, I had this sudden urge to fall asleep."
Well bless his heart. He didn't even know who Björk was. Not only that, but he didn't care, actively and aggressively so. If he'd ever heard of Björk, he wouldn't have said what he just did. First time listeners rarely felt like falling asleep, from his experience. More like begged him to turn it off. Björk's voice was a divisive one, not something you'd fall asleep to. So it was obvious that this guy was just being an ass for the sake of being an ass.
Now that Randall had gotten a good sampling of this guy's particular flavor of abusive tone, he knew exactly who it was behind him. Not his name, mind you, but he had a face, a height, and a few bad memories to match. Randall told himself to continue browsing, keep your head down, he's not paying attention to you, why did your hands stop moving, close your eyes and keep browsing -
"It's pronounced Björk."
Goddammit why did he have to say that? Randall from four years ago would have told present-Randall he must not have had any sense left in him. Randall from four years ago woulda been right, too. So Randall felt like a complete idiot as he turned his head over towards the counter and explained, despite himself:
"It's spelled 'buh-jork,' but it's pronounced Björk."
Randall had caught a bit of the preceding conversation as he'd stepped up to the counter, and the embarrassment in Ruby's voice was evident. Apparently she'd gotten Björk mixed up with Yoko Ono. Randall smiled slightly out of amusement, but did so while realizing that it wasn't a hard mistake to make. They did both write "weird songs," as Ruby put it, both at least looked Asian to some extent, and both were widely known but written off by the general public as kooks more notable for their weird public mannerisms than for their considerable musical output. Rachel was at least interested in listening, though; that was a good sign.
Randall turned around and walked back over to the bins. He wouldn't want to interrupt any conversation Rachel and Ruby were going to have. The soft flipping resumed, and a veritable bounty of records caught his eye as he filed through the stacks. He had to exercise some self-control, otherwise this trip was going to spend a lot more than just his grandparents' check in a hurry. It was worth getting the Steely Dan record because it was the pinnacle of production for its day, or so he'd heard, and he wanted to check that claim out for himself in the original analog format. Any reason less compelling than that, though, was not worth spending money on. Randall's iTunes collection may have been huge, but his record collection was going to stay purposefully small and well-curated.
"Oh, sorry girlies, were you saying something?
Ugh. Just from the dismissive tone of voice, he could tell that it was one of those football-playing guys. The kind of clueless, insult and abuse-slinging meatheads who had surrounded him in middle school and made his life miserable. He'd stayed away from them as much as he could back then, both physically and ideologically, and keeping his head down was a way of life. He was done with that now, though. In Seattle, he could be exactly who he wanted to be.
Except apparently those meatheads were now invading one of his favorite record stores. And harassing the cashiers, and dismissing the customers, and...
I heard this "Bork" recently and, wouldn't you know it, I had this sudden urge to fall asleep."
Well bless his heart. He didn't even know who Björk was. Not only that, but he didn't care, actively and aggressively so. If he'd ever heard of Björk, he wouldn't have said what he just did. First time listeners rarely felt like falling asleep, from his experience. More like begged him to turn it off. Björk's voice was a divisive one, not something you'd fall asleep to. So it was obvious that this guy was just being an ass for the sake of being an ass.
Now that Randall had gotten a good sampling of this guy's particular flavor of abusive tone, he knew exactly who it was behind him. Not his name, mind you, but he had a face, a height, and a few bad memories to match. Randall told himself to continue browsing, keep your head down, he's not paying attention to you, why did your hands stop moving, close your eyes and keep browsing -
"It's pronounced Björk."
Goddammit why did he have to say that? Randall from four years ago would have told present-Randall he must not have had any sense left in him. Randall from four years ago woulda been right, too. So Randall felt like a complete idiot as he turned his head over towards the counter and explained, despite himself:
"It's spelled 'buh-jork,' but it's pronounced Björk."
Well, thankfully Rachael didn't seem too offended by Ruby's little blunder. At the very least, if it DID offend her she was very good at hiding it.
In any case, Ruby's embarrassment lessened greatly as Rachael suggested that she go listen to some of Bjork's work when she got back home, handing her a ten dollar bill as she did so. Whilst Ruby didn't exactly know that much when it came to Bjork, from what she had heard she wasn't particularly sure whether or not it was really her thing. Ruby had always been more fond of alternative rock bands like the Kaiser Chiefs and Red Hot Chilli Peppers then she was in whatever Bjork's main gimmick was.
That said, there have been many times in the past when she found herself enjoying bands she never thought would turn out to be all that good. Even to this day Ruby was still surprised at how much she ended up enjoying listening to My Chemical Romance, which she had previously written off as being a whiney emo band. Plus, there had also been plenty of cases where bands from genres that she wasn't usually all that fond of ended up surprising her, Lady Gaga being one of the first examples to leap to mind. So who knows, maybe Bjork was actually pretty good. At the very least, it wouldn't hurt to spend a couple of minutes listening to one of the songs Rachael brought up.
"So anyways, how are you doing?"
"Oh... Fine, I guess. Kinda wish I didn't have to spend the day watching my dad's place whilst he and mom go do... Well, whatever happy couples do on their anniversary. But otherwise, I suppose I'm doing alrigh-"
It was at that point that a loud and particularly obnoxious-sounding faux snore interrupted her train of thought, and alerted her to the presence of the 6'3 thick lump of meat and bones otherwise known as Jasper Rourke.
"Oh, sorry girlies, were you saying something? I heard this "Bork" recently and, wouldn't you know it, I had this sudden urge to fall asleep,"
*sigh* And to think, for a moment there I thought that this afternoon wouldn't be so bad after all...
Ruby made no secret of how much she utterly despised Jasper Rourke, especially after having to tolerate the dumb bastard since Middle school. Whilst most of the bullies from her past had moved on to do more meaningful things with their lives, such as wash the bathrooms at their local MacDonalds, Jasper on the other hand seemed determined to prove that his presence was still relevant despite the fact that most of his peers stopped giving a shit about other people's hobbies years ago. The fact that his reputation had been permanently soiled by the revelation that he was gay the entire time didn't help, although if anything that seemed to fuel his desire to remind everyone how tough and manly he was.
Whilst some of her friends felt sorry for Jasper when he became the laughing stock of Aurora high for a while, Ruby personally didn't feel the least bit sympathetic. If anything, it struck her as quite karmic that a guy like Jasper ended up on the receiving end of abuse for once. Not that she herself had ever joined in or made any caustic comments about Jasper's sexuality, seeing as she was hardly into members of the opposite sex herself, but at the same time she didn't see it as a reason to suddenly feel sorry for him after years of having to put up with him being a total jerkass. Regardless of whether or not Jasper liked boys instead of girls, the guy was still a complete and utter tool, and nothing was ever going to change that.
And now, that complete and utter tool had decided to harass her friends in the middle of her dad's store. As tempting as it was to go on a huge rant at Jasper, Ruby knew from experience how well that worked against people like him. They just saw it as an excuse to continue pushing your buttons, waiting to see what you say next. It was like trolling, only in real life rather than on a YouTube comment box. And like on the internet, Ruby knew that the best way to deal with people like that wasn't to burst into a string of curses. Instead, an understated yet cutting remark would be more appropriate.
And, after Randall decided to correct Jasper on his mispronunciation of Bjork, Ruby saw her window of opportunity.
"Relax Randall, I'm pretty sure Jasper's smart enough to figure out all by himself how to pronounce Bjork..."
She turned to face Jasper, a wry smile appearing on her face.
"...Eventually."
In any case, Ruby's embarrassment lessened greatly as Rachael suggested that she go listen to some of Bjork's work when she got back home, handing her a ten dollar bill as she did so. Whilst Ruby didn't exactly know that much when it came to Bjork, from what she had heard she wasn't particularly sure whether or not it was really her thing. Ruby had always been more fond of alternative rock bands like the Kaiser Chiefs and Red Hot Chilli Peppers then she was in whatever Bjork's main gimmick was.
That said, there have been many times in the past when she found herself enjoying bands she never thought would turn out to be all that good. Even to this day Ruby was still surprised at how much she ended up enjoying listening to My Chemical Romance, which she had previously written off as being a whiney emo band. Plus, there had also been plenty of cases where bands from genres that she wasn't usually all that fond of ended up surprising her, Lady Gaga being one of the first examples to leap to mind. So who knows, maybe Bjork was actually pretty good. At the very least, it wouldn't hurt to spend a couple of minutes listening to one of the songs Rachael brought up.
"So anyways, how are you doing?"
"Oh... Fine, I guess. Kinda wish I didn't have to spend the day watching my dad's place whilst he and mom go do... Well, whatever happy couples do on their anniversary. But otherwise, I suppose I'm doing alrigh-"
It was at that point that a loud and particularly obnoxious-sounding faux snore interrupted her train of thought, and alerted her to the presence of the 6'3 thick lump of meat and bones otherwise known as Jasper Rourke.
"Oh, sorry girlies, were you saying something? I heard this "Bork" recently and, wouldn't you know it, I had this sudden urge to fall asleep,"
*sigh* And to think, for a moment there I thought that this afternoon wouldn't be so bad after all...
Ruby made no secret of how much she utterly despised Jasper Rourke, especially after having to tolerate the dumb bastard since Middle school. Whilst most of the bullies from her past had moved on to do more meaningful things with their lives, such as wash the bathrooms at their local MacDonalds, Jasper on the other hand seemed determined to prove that his presence was still relevant despite the fact that most of his peers stopped giving a shit about other people's hobbies years ago. The fact that his reputation had been permanently soiled by the revelation that he was gay the entire time didn't help, although if anything that seemed to fuel his desire to remind everyone how tough and manly he was.
Whilst some of her friends felt sorry for Jasper when he became the laughing stock of Aurora high for a while, Ruby personally didn't feel the least bit sympathetic. If anything, it struck her as quite karmic that a guy like Jasper ended up on the receiving end of abuse for once. Not that she herself had ever joined in or made any caustic comments about Jasper's sexuality, seeing as she was hardly into members of the opposite sex herself, but at the same time she didn't see it as a reason to suddenly feel sorry for him after years of having to put up with him being a total jerkass. Regardless of whether or not Jasper liked boys instead of girls, the guy was still a complete and utter tool, and nothing was ever going to change that.
And now, that complete and utter tool had decided to harass her friends in the middle of her dad's store. As tempting as it was to go on a huge rant at Jasper, Ruby knew from experience how well that worked against people like him. They just saw it as an excuse to continue pushing your buttons, waiting to see what you say next. It was like trolling, only in real life rather than on a YouTube comment box. And like on the internet, Ruby knew that the best way to deal with people like that wasn't to burst into a string of curses. Instead, an understated yet cutting remark would be more appropriate.
And, after Randall decided to correct Jasper on his mispronunciation of Bjork, Ruby saw her window of opportunity.
"Relax Randall, I'm pretty sure Jasper's smart enough to figure out all by himself how to pronounce Bjork..."
She turned to face Jasper, a wry smile appearing on her face.
"...Eventually."
-
Frozen Smoke
- Posts: 515
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:50 pm
Jimmy kept spinning the case in between his fingers, no longer really paying attention to it, finding a lot of entertainment in the conversation Rach' and Ruby were having about Bjork, which was pretty darn interesting. The gal knew a fair amount about her music, and that was pretty cool. Well, not just "pretty cool", it was freaking awesome! He'd have to catch up with her and talk tunes during a free period some time soon, it'd be a change of pace from kicking back and reading a few books or comics in the Library.
He thought about interrupting the conversation, but doing so would be like, kind of rude, wouldn't it? Well, would it be anymore than listening in on there conversation? Yeah, 'cos they're all chatting about things they enjoy and generally having a good time, and interrupting them would be totally bogus.
This train of though flitted between the two stations of "Talk" and "Just Listen" for a few minites, until it eventually ran out of steam right by the "Talk" station, and hundreds of little passengers that were like words or something flooded out and sort of like assembled themselves into a phrases and sentence, and wow that metaphor got off track fast.
"Off Track". Really Jimmy? Really?
His smile grew a little more as he realised he was still carrying on the trainwreck of a metaphor subconciously.
He was about to open his mouth and remind them about the whole iPad app thing that was rolling out with Biophillia that he thought was damn cool, when another voice and figure joined the quiet concert, seeming as out of place as Screamo in a Beethoven collection.
Jasper.
Whelp, if there was ever a cue to depart from station leave, that was it.
He knew that anything involving Jasper didn't end well. The guy didn't seem to like him or any of his friends, and well, he wasn't going to stick around to let him rag on him, that'd totally blow the day for him, so he stopped spinning the case between his fingers, snapping his forefingers down on the side of the plastic to halt the spin, then slowly lowering it in one hand.
"Well, anyways, I'll see you at school guys, I got a million and one things to be doing right now!" He said, keeping a friendly tone in his voice as he lowered his head to avoid making eye contact with Jasper, and began to walk towards the door.
He thought about interrupting the conversation, but doing so would be like, kind of rude, wouldn't it? Well, would it be anymore than listening in on there conversation? Yeah, 'cos they're all chatting about things they enjoy and generally having a good time, and interrupting them would be totally bogus.
This train of though flitted between the two stations of "Talk" and "Just Listen" for a few minites, until it eventually ran out of steam right by the "Talk" station, and hundreds of little passengers that were like words or something flooded out and sort of like assembled themselves into a phrases and sentence, and wow that metaphor got off track fast.
"Off Track". Really Jimmy? Really?
His smile grew a little more as he realised he was still carrying on the trainwreck of a metaphor subconciously.
He was about to open his mouth and remind them about the whole iPad app thing that was rolling out with Biophillia that he thought was damn cool, when another voice and figure joined the quiet concert, seeming as out of place as Screamo in a Beethoven collection.
Jasper.
Whelp, if there was ever a cue to depart from station leave, that was it.
He knew that anything involving Jasper didn't end well. The guy didn't seem to like him or any of his friends, and well, he wasn't going to stick around to let him rag on him, that'd totally blow the day for him, so he stopped spinning the case between his fingers, snapping his forefingers down on the side of the plastic to halt the spin, then slowly lowering it in one hand.
"Well, anyways, I'll see you at school guys, I got a million and one things to be doing right now!" He said, keeping a friendly tone in his voice as he lowered his head to avoid making eye contact with Jasper, and began to walk towards the door.
Criticism or thoughts on my writing are welcome and appreciated - always looking to improve! Feel free to poke me on Discord or via PM.
"Oh... Fine, I guess. Kinda wish I didn't have to spend the day watching my dad's place whilst he and mom go do... Well, whatever happy couples do on their anniversary. But otherwise, I suppose I'm doing alrigh-"
Rachael was listening intently to Ruby when she heard a snort. She turned and saw Jasper Rourke standing nearby, looking at some records. Rachael didn't know much about Jasper. She heard of his incident when he was outed and how he left school for a bit, but she didn't think much about it. However, she did remember how he acted in school. He was arrogant, like other jocks, prone to picking on weaker men. She had tried to stay out of his way, but it looks like he had something he needed to say.
"Oh, sorry girlies, were you saying something? I heard this 'Bork' recently and, wouldn't you know it, I had this sudden urge to fall asleep,"
Oh. No. Rachael absorbed what Jasper had just said. He must have been mistaken, it's not easy to fall asleep when Björk is playing. Maybe he was simply in a state of fatigue while listening. Before she could say anything, Randall interjected himself into the conversation.
"It's pronounced Björk. It's spelled 'buh-jork,' but it's pronounced Björk."
"Relax Randall," Ruby said, "I'm pretty sure Jasper's smart enough to figure out all by himself how to pronounce Bjork......eventually."
Rachael was surprised by this sudden exchange. She had just been having a friendly chat with her friend and now the four of them were discussing Björk's name and music. She noticed that Jimmy was making his way out of the record shop, he probably had somewhere to go. Still, she thought it would be good to try and respond to Jasper's comments.
"Falling asleep while listening to her music is actually pretty cool to do," Rachael spoke. "If you listen to her music while wearing really good headphones and with your eyes closed, the experience is pretty surreal. I did that while on a plane ride to visit my sister in Charlottesville, Virginia, and it was really intense. The things I saw while listening to 'Bachelorette' and 'Isobel' were some of the most interesting things my mind ever came up with. It's great for artistic inspiration."
"Still, I'm sure you were listening to some of her quieter stuff though, like 'Solstice', but when you hear more bombastic songs like 'Human Behavior' and 'Big Time Sensuality', you're mind will be racing. It's really sweet."
Alright, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he will be receptive to what I said. At least he knows how to pronounce her name now though. Although we might have just heard him pronounce it wrong or something.
Rachael was listening intently to Ruby when she heard a snort. She turned and saw Jasper Rourke standing nearby, looking at some records. Rachael didn't know much about Jasper. She heard of his incident when he was outed and how he left school for a bit, but she didn't think much about it. However, she did remember how he acted in school. He was arrogant, like other jocks, prone to picking on weaker men. She had tried to stay out of his way, but it looks like he had something he needed to say.
"Oh, sorry girlies, were you saying something? I heard this 'Bork' recently and, wouldn't you know it, I had this sudden urge to fall asleep,"
Oh. No. Rachael absorbed what Jasper had just said. He must have been mistaken, it's not easy to fall asleep when Björk is playing. Maybe he was simply in a state of fatigue while listening. Before she could say anything, Randall interjected himself into the conversation.
"It's pronounced Björk. It's spelled 'buh-jork,' but it's pronounced Björk."
"Relax Randall," Ruby said, "I'm pretty sure Jasper's smart enough to figure out all by himself how to pronounce Bjork......eventually."
Rachael was surprised by this sudden exchange. She had just been having a friendly chat with her friend and now the four of them were discussing Björk's name and music. She noticed that Jimmy was making his way out of the record shop, he probably had somewhere to go. Still, she thought it would be good to try and respond to Jasper's comments.
"Falling asleep while listening to her music is actually pretty cool to do," Rachael spoke. "If you listen to her music while wearing really good headphones and with your eyes closed, the experience is pretty surreal. I did that while on a plane ride to visit my sister in Charlottesville, Virginia, and it was really intense. The things I saw while listening to 'Bachelorette' and 'Isobel' were some of the most interesting things my mind ever came up with. It's great for artistic inspiration."
"Still, I'm sure you were listening to some of her quieter stuff though, like 'Solstice', but when you hear more bombastic songs like 'Human Behavior' and 'Big Time Sensuality', you're mind will be racing. It's really sweet."
Alright, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he will be receptive to what I said. At least he knows how to pronounce her name now though. Although we might have just heard him pronounce it wrong or something.